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New Construction
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Rockingham County single family home building activity slows |
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This is probably no surprise, but the number of single family homes being built each year has diminished for the past few years. The graph below shows the number of single family home building permits that have been issued for each of the past few years.  The 2008 figure is extrapolated from the January 2008 - June 2008 data showing 208 permits. This is likely a good thing for our market, as some price ranges still have a significant excess of housing supply. For example, 27 months of inventory exist in the $400k+ price range for the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Perhaps this gradual decrease in the number of new single family homes being built is what has allowed our market to continue to see (slow and steady) increases in price --- median sales prices are up 3.5% over last year. | |
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What are the SIZES of new construction single family homes being sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? |
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Over the past 18 months (January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) 138 single family homes have been built and sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as reflected in the HRAR MLS. The sizes of new construction homes that are selling might be of interest to home buyers, home sellers, builders and developers...  Click on the graph above for a printable PDF. | |
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What are the PRICES of new construction single family homes being sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? |
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Over the past 18 months (January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008) 138 single family homes have been built and sold in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as reflected in the HRAR MLS. | |
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The heated debate of residential fire sprinklers! |
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 Yesterday, I wrote an article that talked about the costs and challenges of residential fire sprinklers, given that they may soon be required on all new single family homes and townhomes. Some of the data that I provided was provided by the National Association of Home Builders, who are not in favor of residential code requiring the installation of fire sprinklers.Today, I received from feedback from two individuals who are advocating for mandatory residential fire sprinklers:
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Fire Safety vs. Building Cost |
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 In its September meeting, the International Code Council will be considering a change to the International Residential Code which would mandate the installation of sprinklers in all new single family homes and townhouses. At first you might think "why not mandate sprinklers, if they'd make our families and our homes safer!?" But before we encourage our local building inspectors to vote for this change to the IRC, let's take a look at some of the technical and cost issues involved:
What do you think? | |
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Urban Exchange - Done Digging, Now Building UP! |
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After MANY weeks of digging down (down, down, down), the foundation for Urban Exchange is finally coming up out of the ground!  For those of you who are not familiar with the project, Urban Exchange is a new construction project in downtown Harrisonburg to feature condos, apartments and retail space. Check out more photos of the construction process here! | |
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New Harrisonburg Townhomes -- Quite The Upgrades! |
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For the past seven years, Coldwell Banker Funkhouser Realtors (the company where I work) has represented the builder/developer of Beacon Hill Townes. Up until the most recent six months, the townhouses that have been built have been of high quality, with several exciting standard features such as hardwood floors on the main level.  Now, everything has changed! All of a sudden, the builder has decided to throw in even more upgraded features as standard components to the townhouses currently being built. Gone are the standard "builder's brass" light fixtures, door knobs, etc. Now, you'll find exciting (and contemporary) features such as decorative lighting and plumbing fixtures, upgraded cabinetry, decorative door hardware, and more. Why, you might ask? Was the change made to try to eek a little bit more profit out of each townhouse sale? Actually --- the prices have remained some of the most competitive (low) prices of all new construction townhome subdivisions in Harrisonburg. One reason for the upgrades is to finish out the last section of Beacon Hill with the most exciting units yet, to keep the excitiment for the subdivision high all the way to the end. Whatever the reason --- the new townhouses being built are quite stylish, and give a wonderful impression to buyers who have been shopping around and looking at other new construction townhomes. I'm curious to see how long it will be until other new townhomes in Harrisonburg start to include some of these stylish upgrades. Soon, I hope --- as it certainly benefits Harrisonburg townhome buyers! | |
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Is Growth Good Or Evil? |
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 Well, perhaps we don't have to narrow it down with such extreme labels, but there has been some interesting debate over the subject over at hburgnews.com, all of which began with the issue of funding disappearing for the expansion of Port Republic Road. Here are some of my thoughts, though I would love to hear other perspectives on the subject: WHY GROWTH OCCURS: Desirable area -> people want to live here -> they need a place to live -> many want to buy -> more homes are needed -> land is rezoned -> lots are developed -> houses are built. While growth stems from a positive situation (an area being desirable), it is also true that:
But what is the alternative? To halt growth? To do so, a locality would need to either:
Taking either of these steps would (in my opinion) have some rather negative consequences:
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Don't Miss The 2008 SVBA Home & Garden Show |
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 Be sure to stop by JMU's Convocation Center this coming weekend for the SVBA's 2008 Home & Garden Show. The show hours include:
Award-winning garden designer, author and owner of Rockcastle River Trading Company --- Jon Carloftis (pictured above, to the right) will join us this year at the 2008 SVBA Home & Garden Show. Jon is a contributing editor of Garden Design magazine, and a regional writer for Country Gardens. Jon will be appearing on Saturday, April 5 at 1:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. in Builders Square at JMU's Convocation Center. | |
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Digging Deep --- Harrisonburg's Downtown Condos |
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I am delighted to be a part of marketing and selling the Urban Exchange project --- an exciting new construction project in downtown Harrisonburg featuring retail space on the first floor and almost 200 apartments and condos. The photo below shows the excavation progress (these aren't just really deep footers, there will be two levels of underground covered parking). See more photos of the progress by clicking here.  | |
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One Year Builder's Warranty on New Construction |
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 As you consider buying a newly constructed home, it is important to be aware of what is often referred to as a one-year builder warranty. Technically, what we are referring to are "Implied warranties on new homes" per Virginia statute 55-70.1. What is covered by the warranty? The builder warrants that the "dwelling with all its fixtures is, to the best of the actual knowledge of the vendor or his agents, sufficiently (i) free from structural defects, so as to pass without objection in the trade, and (ii) constructed in a workmanlike manner, so as to pass without objection in the trade." Essentially, no structural defects, and workmanlike construction. When does the one year start? The earlier of when the title is transferred, or when the buyer takes possession of the property. I bought a house three months ago and have discovered structural defects. The builder is telling me a warranty doesn't exist, because "as is" was written into the contract. Is this possible? It is possible to modify or exclude the Virginia statute based implied warranty. However --- it is likely that the builder did not follow the statute when selling the property to you as is. To sell a new property "as is" and exclude the implied home warranty, the fact that the house is being sold "as is" must be written on the face of the contract, in capital letters, in a font size at least two points larger than the other type in the contract. This doesn't happen too often. I have a structural issue, what do I do? The statute specifies that you have a cause of action against the builder, but that you must first notify the builder of the defect and allow them a reasonable period of time (no longer than six months) to cure the defect. What about the foundation? The foundation is warrantied for five years (instead of just one) --- though if a foundation issue exists, it must be reported to the builder within two years of when it is discovered. The Virginia statute keeps referring to a "structural defect" --- what is that? Per the code, "a defect or defects that reduce the stability or safety of the structure below accepted standards or that restrict the normal use thereof." Yes, that is about as vague as you can get. My builder is asking me to sign a warranty document at closing --- why? And should I sign it? First, take time to read the document. In most cases, such a document includes verbiage that limits the (vague) rights you would have had under the broad Virginia statute. Builders ask buyers to sign these documents to narrow the scope of buyer's possible warranty requests --- and this desire often comes from past buyers who have been unreasonable in asking the builder to address cosmetic (or other non-structural) issues within the first year. If the document only includes language that restricts or eliminates your rights under the broad Virginia statute, kindly refuse to sign the document. Unless all parties agreed in the sales contract that a warranty document would be signed at closing, the builder can not require you to sign the document --- it is imposing a new contract term on the buyer, when that was not included in the original negotiations. One caveat --- sometimes the document serves both the builder and the buyer --- it can do so by specifically stating items that the builder will indeed repair that might otherwise be in a gray area given the vague nature of the Virginia statute. | |
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Cause & Effect :: Development Patterns & Traffic Problems |
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 Another key thought from last week's Smart Growth Symposium put on the Shenandoah Valley Builders Association is that . . .Distributed neighborhoods, that are not integrated into the community, lead to more driving, and thus, more traffic. Many new residential developments in this area (think of Route 33 East) are:
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Harrisonburg Water & Sewer Connection Fees Increase |
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 Most homeowners, or those who hope to be homeowners in the future may not have paid too much attention to the news earlier this month that Harrisonburg water and sewer connection fees will be increasing. But maybe we all should have taken note . . .The Change Example #1: three-quarter-inch water meter --- in this example, the sum of the water and sewer connection fees will soon be $7,000, instead of the existing $2,000. This size would be typical for a single family residence. Example #2: a six-inch water meter --- in this example, the sum of the water and sewer connection fees will soon be $300,000, instead of the existing $17,500. This size would be typical for a large commercial project. Peruse the current fee schedule here, and the new schedule here (effective July 1, 2008). The Effect As Todd Rhea, of Clark & Bradshaw, commented at last week's Smart Growth Symposium, when builders or developers are faced with new fees, we're fooling ourselves if we think they absorb those costs. They ultimately get passed on to the buyer. With this logic, one could argue that city housing costs will increase universally by $5,000 come July. Action Item Builders and developers should note that the fees are charged at the time of obtaining the building permit --- so as long as a lot has a building permit prior to July 1, 2008, you can take advantage of the lower fee schedule. For a developer of a major residential or commercial project, this could equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings. | |
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Will Rockingham County Be Paved Over? |
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I have heard some people talk about development as if in the next few years, or decades, all of Rockingham County will be developed --- with the farm land destroyed, and our history no longer preserved. Below I'll try to put that thought in the context of actual land use, but for the record --- I don't think many at today's Smart Growth Symposium thought that the above statement is true. (Lest anyone conclude that I am referring to any of the attendees).  The data above is extracted from the Rockingham County Comprehensive Plan, particularly page 18 of the section on Strategies, Policies and Actions. Here's the full list of how Rockingham County land is being used:
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In Theory, Construction Is Booming! |
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 Are builders gearing up? (Daily News Record) Yes, and no! Read on... Building Permits Issued Per Year:
So....the number of building permits has definitely increased, BUT a large portion of the City of Harrisonburg building permits are for multi-family student housing projects. Though not having conducted a wide survey, I would guess:
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Smart(er) Growth For Harrisonburg and Rockingham County? |
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Wow! Today's Smart Growth Symposium, orchestrated by the Shenandoah Valley Builders Association was a fantastic primer on growth issues and how to plan for them in the central Shenandoah Valley. Stewart Schwartz, the Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, provided a great overview of smart growth principles and policies that provided a helpful framework for thinking about and planning for the future of our area. One key point that he made, that stuck with me, was a need to focus on developing in the right place. Those present included conservationists, builders, farmers, real estate agents, bankers, local planning staff, elected officials, engaged citizens, and more. There seemed to be a great desire for and capacity to consider working together for the best future for our valley, despite the varying perspectives each of us bring to the table. | |
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Preston Lake -- Diving Into The Details |
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 I have had several clients inquire about Preston Lake, a mixed-use development underway just east of Harrisonburg. I have sent a variety of information and links to online resources to these clients, but thought I'd group all of that information together in one place. General Information News Articles / Opinion Pieces
A few more notes and disclaimers:
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Modular vs. Stick-Built . . . A Blind Test |
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 A few weeks ago some of my clients were interested in viewing both a stick-built home and a modular home, and agreed to look at both in a blind comparison test. First, according to Wikipedia, a stick-built structure is "one constructed entirely or largely on-site," as opposed to a modular home that is "divided into multiple modules or sections which are manufactured in aremote facility and then delivered to their intended site of use." Before we get to the results of the blind test, it is important to note that there are mixed opinions on modular homes. For example, some would suggest that . . .
The stick-built home had higher quality interior finishes, a more practical layout, higher quality flooring, and seemed somewhat more solid --- but --- had more of an echo, and had several lower quality finishing selections that didn't convey quality construction. The modular home had higher quality framing and higher ceilings, and the marriage wall was not noticeable --- but --- there were more oddities in the floor plan and the floor joists seemed more shoddy. Both homes had great drywall work and seemed to be very structurally sound. | |
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Buying Acreage To Build A Home |
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Recently, one of my blog readers asked a variety of questions about buying land for building a home. Let's delve into a few of the related questions and issues!  What is the average price per acre in Rockingham County? The cost per acre of land varies across Rockingham County, mostly depending upon the size of the tract, and the property location. For example, in 2007 land in Rockingham County north of Route 33, with tract sizes of 1-10 acres sold at an average rate of $33k/acre. These 22 sales, however, ranged in price per acre from $5k to $220k. When a buyer starts considering a particular property, we would then start looking at average price/acre for tracts most similar to that property. Does land appreciate? Almost always, yes --- because we have a fixed supply of land, as opposed to housing which can continue to be built. However --- it often doesn't appreciate as quickly as land with a house built on it, since land sales do not comprise as active of a market as home sales. When evaluating a particular property, what should I consider? It is imperative to investigate many aspects of a piece of land before purchasing. Some, but not all, of these include:
Do you have to build immediately in a subdivision? Each subdivision is a bit different in their expectations, but those expectations are almost always spelled out in the same document -- the covenants and restrictions. Rarely does a subdivision require that building start within any given time frame, however, many subdivisions will require that construction be completed within a certain amount of time after it has begun. Buying land can be somewhat complicated, but is an exciting process. There's nothing like being a Virginia land owner! | |
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Condos Are Coming To Downtown Harrisonburg! |
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Urban Exchange, an exciting new mixed-use development, will be built with frontage on East Market Street and Mason Street --- within walking distance to downtown Harrisonburg and JMU campus.  The six-story structure will be comprised of (196) 1, 2 and 3 bedroom condos / apartments, as well as approximately 12,000 s.f. of retail space -- to house tenants such as a coffee shop, restaurant, and other retail operations. These brand new, upscale units will be available both for sale or for lease. Amenities will include on-site parking, free internet and phone service, a state-of the-art fitness center, public space and an outdoor courtyard. Demolition on the existing structures will begin this month, and the entire project will be complete by Summer 2009. For more information about Urban Exchange, visit http://www.ueharrisonburg.com. | |
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Scott Rogers
Coldwell Banker
Funkhouser Realtors
540-578-0102
scott@cbfunkhouser.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia